Breede Valley serial killer sentenced to 25 years

A serial killer was sentenced in the Worcester circuit court to 25 years’ imprisonment on Friday after pleading guilty to three murder charges and entering into a plea and sentence agreement with the state.

Siyamcela Sombambela, 35, was charged with murder after the discovery of three bodies in the Pine Valley informal settlement in the Breede Valley, Boland, during October 2020.

It was alert members of the community who became suspicious when they noticed Sombambela dragging something, late at night, on Saturday, October 24 2020. They alerted police.

On arrival, officers “made a gruesome discovery and found the body of 21-year-old Bernadine Frans from the Pine Valley community. Sombambela, also residing in the area, was arrested,” said police spokesperson Capt Frederick Van Wyk.

Police were called out to the area again the next day after a passer-by discovered a shallow grave in an open field where a women's body was found.

“The body was later identified as 25-year-old Miché Pienaar. A further search in the area by police led to the discovery of another grave not far from the first one. A second body, later identified as 33-year-old Grizella Minnaar, was discovered,” said Van Wyk.

LISTEN | Why are SA’s most deadly convicted criminals up for parole?

TimesLIVE